The invention relates generally to an information assistance system and method. More specifically, the invention relates to a system and method for determining which user profile to use to service a call, e.g., by an information assistance service.
In a typical directory assistance call, a caller identifies to an operator the name and address (sometimes city or area code) of a party whose telephone number is desired. In response, the operator locates the desired destination telephone number using, e.g., a computer database. The destination number is then provided to the caller, e.g., by a voice server which provides automated voicing of the number, and the caller is afforded an option to be connected to the destination number without the need of first terminating the directory assistance call.
Information assistance is an extension of directory assistance. In addition to connecting a caller to a destination number, information assistance operators can provide concierge-type services such as a restaurant guide and reservation service, event ticketing and reservation service, hotel reservation and availability service, travel or flight reservation and ticketing services, ordering specific items such as flowers or food delivery, arranging transportation, and accessing entertainment guides. The use of information assistance to provide such concierge-type services is disclosed, e.g., in commonly-assigned, co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/520,306, “Technique for Providing Information Assistance Including Concierge-Type Services,” filed Mar. 7, 2000, incorporated herein by reference.
In addition, information assistance service subscribers may use an information management service to retain information folders, such as contacts folders (also known as private directories), appointments folders (also known as calendars), to-do lists, and notes. A caller may access a contacts folder to connect to a desired contact, retrieve an appointment or to-do list item, or set up a new contact, appointment, or to-do list item. A contacts folder contains contact information, such as telephone number, postal address, and e-mail address, for people and/or organizations. Each of the user's contacts includes at least a telephone number, and likely includes an associated name, which may be a full or real name of the contact (e.g., Joseph Johnson) or may be a nickname or alias (e.g., Joe or “JJ”). The associated address may be a full address, including number, street, city, state, postal code, and country, or may be a partial address, e.g., only including a street name or a city. A user may have separate contacts folders for different purposes, such as a personal contacts folder, a business contacts folder, a sports team contacts folder, etc. These folders are stored in a database accessible to an information/call center and its operators. The user may have specific rights with respect to a folder, e.g., owner, administrator, read-only, etc. When the user accesses a folder through an operator, the operator becomes an alter ego of the user and is subject to the same rights as the user with respect to the folder. The user may create, maintain, or access a contacts folder via the Internet or other communications means, or through an operator who in turn may create, maintain, or access the folder on behalf of the user. The user may be identified by ANI (automatic number identification) or, alternatively, by, or in combination with, a user identification (ID), password, PIN, mother's maiden name, user voice recognition, user voiceprint, etc. The use of information assistance to provide these types of information management services and to maintain the folders is disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pub. No. 2002/0055351 A1, published May 9, 2002, incorporated herein by reference.
Moreover, if a caller subscribes to an information assistance service, the information assistance service may develop one or more user profiles that include information pertaining to and about the caller, including preferences for handling calls from the caller and methods of identifying the caller based on the caller's telephone number, voiceprint, PIN (personal identification number), etc. These profiles may also include the caller's personal preferences about restaurants, movies, sporting events, or hobbies. U.S. Pub. No. 2002/0055351 A1 also discloses the use of more than one profile associated with a user, including a hierarchy of profiles identified by a user's telephone number, e.g., ANI. The highest profile in the hierarchy may be the user's personal profile, but other profiles may be associated with the user, such as those associated with, e.g., the user's long-distance carrier, the regional information/call center to which the user has been connected, the geographic market from which the user is calling. Preferences in a profile at a higher level, e.g., the user's personal profile, take precedence over conflicting preferences in a profile at a lower level, e.g., the geographic market profile.
Telephone systems use a variety of signaling protocols to establish telephone calls across telephone lines owned by different entities. One of these protocols, Feature Group D (FG-D), defines interconnection rules between a local exchange carrier (LEC) and an inter-exchange carrier (IEC or long-distance carrier). FG-D services route inter-LATA calls to the IEC point of termination, route calls with a carrier access code to the user's carrier, and pass information to the carrier. Information passed includes the caller's number, through ANI.
In certain environments, e.g., a corporate environment, there may be multiple employees each having a different telephone number, but all of the calls from all of the telephone numbers are billed to a single, corporate number called the “billing telephone number” (BTN). This type of environment may occur if the corporate entity uses, e.g., a Centrex system. This type of multiple-phone environment may also occur in a residential setting if there are multiple phone lines in the residence, yet all are billed to a single number.
Unlike FG-D, which can only pass one call identifier, such as the caller's ANI, more advanced signaling systems can pass multiple call identifiers, e.g., the BTN and the ANI, which is helpful in keeping track of details used to bill telephone calls across telephone lines controlled by different entities. One such advanced signaling system is “SS7” (Signaling System 7), which may also be referred to as “C7,” “Common Channel Signaling System No. 7,” or “CCSS7.” SS7is a global standard for telecommunications defined by the International Telecommunication Union. The standard defines the procedures and protocol by which network elements in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) exchange information over a digital signaling network to effect wireless (cellular) and wireline call setup, routing, and control. Similarly, for VoIP (voice over IP (Internet Protocol)) calls, a session initiation protocol (SIP) may be used to establish and terminate a VoIP call session. The SIP also has the ability to pass more than one call identifier. For details on the SIP, one may refer, e.g., to “SIP: Protocol Overview” (2001), available at www.radvision.com, a website associated with Radvision Ltd. located in Fair Lawn, N.J.